Les Co'Pains d'Abord

 Bakery: Boulangerie Les Co'Pains d'Abord
Address:  1965 Av. du Mont-Royal E, Montreal QC
Website: http://boulangerielescopainsdabord.com/
Style: French
Price: $$ 

Montreal really has a great selection of bakeries and patisseries and sometimes, alas, some need to be turned down. Fortunately, such was not the case with Les Co'Pains d'Abord; it was the first bakery spotted on that day's tour. ;)

Oh, the butter!

In this narrow enclosure, you have some of the classics of French dough: croissants, pretty danishes and flaky turnovers and fancy tarts. Given the fact that they offer a variety of flavours as well as sizes, I take it that their specialty is their gateau breton (not to be confused with the equally delectable gateau basque), a "cake" that is in fact something in between a tart and a shortbread cookie. At Les Co'Pains, they offer a few fillings such as apple or apricot (the same price if you get the small ones; a dollar or two more for the large) to spice things up a little.

Naturally, I couldn't resist a small tart ($2.25). Apricot, to be precise. ^^ As with most French recipes, the base of a gateau breton is butter. It's supposed to be chewy and dense, rich and well, delicious and this one did not disappoint. A browned crust on top with a thin layer of apricot jam on the very bottom, this didn't crumble, but came apart in whole chunks. Harder outside that had the feeling of a shell, softer inside and all amazingly chewy, this was a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery treat.

On a busy Saturday afternoon, the line-up was to the door of this tiny bakery... and with good reason. ;)

Rating: ***1/2